Three of a Kind
by Mystwalker
Summary: When you call a dragon your parent, what does that make other Dragon Slayers?
1. Three of a Kind

**Three of a Kind**

**By: **

**Mystwalker**

**A/N: **Took a break from **Unconditional **to write this one-shot, because I needed to toss this idea out there. Hope you like it!

**Note on Pairings: **This fic has none. However, I personally support Gajeel/Levy and Natsu/Lucy, so if small hints of those come up in this fic and you don't support them, feel free to look past them. The storm scene is a tribute to **Stormdancer**, which was a really nice fic to read and inspired me to write this.

**Disclaimer: **I do not and will never own Fairy Tail.

XxXxX

It was a dreary day. One of those days where the clouds hung low in the sky, and he still had to double check to make sure that Juvia wasn't walking down the street behind him, even though it had been years since the curse or spell or whatever it was on her had been lifted. Gajeel sat in the alcove by the window, his booted foot resting flat on the cushions and his arm slung casually over his knee. Levy would have a fit over the damn cushions, he thought with a small snort as he glared at the fluffy dark blue things beneath his feet.

As if they couldn't just _get _more.

The sound of sandaled feet on wood made him look up, although he knew the Salamander was coming down the hallway long before that. The smell of smoke clung around him so thickly that Gajeel was surprised nobody had ever noticed it before. Although today it was different. There was salt on the other Dragon Slayer's vest, and a faint scent that reminded him of the smell of cold air.

His hand curled into a fist. The Salamander turned into the living room, his own eyes narrowed and a scowl on his face.

"The kid?" asked Gajeel, gruffly.

"Sleeping," said Natsu. "I put her in your bed. Hope Levy doesn't have a freak out."

"Feh. She'd probably write 'milk and cookies' or something stupid like that and watch some dumb flick with her where no one gets killed and everyone cries." He swung his leg off the cushion, bringing his foot down on the floor with a loud thud.

"Stay with her."

"Going out?" asked Natsu as Gajeel passed him.

"Yeah."

He caught Natsu's glare as he made his way out the door, and nodded once, understanding the silent message. The Salamander didn't want to leave it to Gajeel, but neither was he going to leave her alone. The look in his eye was pretty much universally understood at Fairy Tail.

"_Give him hell from me." _

Like he needed to be told twice. But it would be kinda hard getting even for the both of them. It wasn't like Gajeel could kill someone twice.

She could, if she had the guts to do it. She could hurt someone to the brink of death and bring them back over and over again. He felt a small shiver run up his spine, not for the first time, at the thought of how things might have turned out if their roles had been reversed. If he had been adopted by Grandine.

_Damn it…_he thought to himself as he slammed the door behind him and walked down the street. _What the hell happened to me?_

He hadn't really said much to her when she first showed up—barely exchanged two words with her. He had been vaguely interested finding out that she was a Dragon Slayer, but he had looked over her once and had seen a scrawny, insecure twelve-year-old kid, all hair and eyes and limbs that were way too long for her body, and he had dismissed her. What did it matter if she was some dragon's brat just like him?

She annoyed him too. They both did. Her and the Salamander, sitting around and talking about finding Igneel and Grandine and this and that, like those bastards really could be found that easily. Digging up false leads, getting into trouble, running around Fiore like lunatics talking 'dragon' this and 'dragon' that while Charle despaired about her not growing into a 'proper lady', whatever the hell _that _was supposed to mean. It wouldn't have been so bad if they didn't drag him into it whenever they got the chance, always nagging him about finding Metalicana.

Tch. As if.

But he found himself following them. Heading out to the mountains when he heard that dark guilds were hanging around there, blending into crowded cities, hiding behind corners like Juvia on one of her creeper days. He told himself that it was just to make sure the flame-brain didn't get the kid _killed_, since he could barely be trusted to take care of himself, let alone a freaking preteen. There was no way he was curious. No way any part of him, no matter how tiny, still hoped that Metalicana would come back and growl at him for running off when he had just gone to take a nap or whatever.

Like _that _would ever happen.

He remembered the conversation they had had on her thirteenth birthday, if he could even call it that. She had slipped off to his part of the guild while Natsu was in the process of burning the top layer of her birthday cake off trying to light the candles. He hadn't even noticed her standing there until she leaned against his table. The kid had a more subtle scent than most people. It was hard to pick it up in a crowded room. While Natsu smelled like stereotypical fire and brimstone, she always smelled the way the air smelled after a summer rain.

"_Everyone's really excited, ne?" _she had said, her hands clasped behind her back as she watched Titania slam the Salamander into the wall for destroying the cake.

"_Whatever," _he remembered himself saying. Then, grudgingly. _"Happy birthday." _

"_It's not really my birthday," _she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. _"But I don't know when mine is." _

He looked up, raising an eyebrow.

"_Ano…Grandine didn't know. But she said I was born in the spring, because I was about half a year old when she found me in the winter. So I used to use the first day of spring to count my age. But Natsu-san said I could use the day I joined Fairy Tail, since that's in the spring…and that's what he did." _

He grunted in reply, taking a screw from the pile of scrap metal in front of him and tossing it into his mouth.

"_When's your birthday, Gajeel-san?" _she asked.

He shrugged through a mouthful of metal. _"No clue. That damn dragon bastard didn't know either." _

"_Sou ka…" _she said. She looked at him, smiling brightly. All he remembered from that day was that smile, and vaguely, that she had grown a little bit taller but was still pretty scrawny.

"…_And when did you join Fairy Tail?" _

Against his better judgment, he told her. And when that day rolled around, he came up to the bar to find a small wrapped box on it. It was heavy, and he opened it to find a solid block of iron, with a note on it.

"_Happy birthday." _

He had called her an idiot for that. But he had eaten the iron anyway.

The day he stopped seeing her as some random kid came a few months later, when a storm blew into town. Everybody was told to stay inside, including Fairy Tail's famous mages. Which, unfortunately, had him sitting between Thing 1 and Thing 2, Levy's little fan club. The two of them hadn't been too happy about the fact that Levy had come to sit at his table, so the next thing he knew, he had one on either side of him, glaring at him.

That was when Charle started freaking out that she wasn't in the building.

In the confusion, he noticed the back door swinging open in the wind, so he left, walking out of it and into the storm. The wind and rain was pretty bad, but he had been out in worse, so it didn't really bother him. It was the lightning he remembered to watch out for. Storms were not the best weather to be out in when you happened to be a living lightning rod.

Then he saw her.

In the sky above the guild spinning around like a little kid splashing in a puddle, her body moving with an almost feral delight as she moved through the gales like they were nothing more than summer breezes. In that moment, he hadn't seen a scrawny thirteen-year-old kid. The image he had seen was so real to him that for a moment, he thought he saw it imprinted in the sky behind her, light glinting off blue scales and claws and wings outstretched.

He didn't see a kid.

He saw a dragon.

And when he went back to the guild empty-handed, he ignored all questions as to why he was soaked to the skin.

His downfall, though, was the day that Levy asked him for a favor. She was supposed to take the kid out on a mission, but something came up, some famous author showing up in Hargeon or whatever. Could he go with her instead? She had been alright with that, but when Natsu found out he was going to be dragging her halfway across the country (how the Salamander had phrased it, even though to this day he still thought it was the other way around), he had insisted on coming along. So there were the three of them walking into this small town in the middle of nowhere—the big scary guy, the hot-headed idiot, and the sweet little girl. Three people with absolutely nothing in common.

Except everything.

The mission was a freaking baby mission. Some kid's little sister had gone missing, and he needed wizards to find her. The three of them went out into the mountains, found the kidnappers, kicked their butts (with even her getting a few hits in). She had healed the missing brats and brought them back down into the city, where their parents were waiting. She stood there and watched as the kids and their families were reunited, and the client led his little sister away. Her hands were at her sides, her eyes fixed on them and a serious expression on her face.

It was a while until she spoke.

"_It must be nice to have siblings…" _she said.

"_Keh," _he remembered saying. _"Looks like a pain in the ass." _

"_Well…I don't know," _she said. _"I mean…it's kind of like the three of us are siblings, don't you think?"_

"_What?" _asked Gajeel and the Salamander at the same time. They pointed at each other. _"There's no way I'm related to __**him**__!" _

She giggled. _"But our parents are all dragons, right? So what does that make other Dragon Slayers?" _

"_...Sometimes I think of you two as my brothers, you know?" _

That stopped their argument cold, both of them looking up at her. The Salamander's hand was around Gajeel's neck, and Gajeel was holding him up by his vest. They paused for a moment.

"_Whatever," _said Gajeel as they walked away. _"So long as I'm the older brother." _

"_Are you crazy?" _asked Natsu. _"_I'm _the big brother!" _

"_I'm older than you, flame-brain. So, shut up, __**little brother**__." _

"_No, YOU shut up, __**little brother.**__"_

It was an act they put on for her, because neither of them would ever call the other person a brother to their face. And she laughed.

"_Natsu-nii. Gajeel-nii_."

"_Eh?" _asked the two of them, looking up at her.

"_Nothing," _she said. _"Just trying it out." _

She called him that from that day on. After a while, he didn't even bother correcting her. He just let her call him whatever she wanted. If other people thought she was his little sister, that wasn't really his problem.

She didn't stay little for long, though.

Didn't stay scrawny either.

The years wore on, and she grew taller and got older, her body gradually growing into the shape her Edolas copy had been in, and it wasn't long until people started to take notice of the Sky Maiden. Fourteen, fifteen…

Sixteen when she started seeing _him_. And Gajeel would be the first to say it, no matter how cliché it sounded.

He never liked that boy.

He remembered the first time he had come to the guild hall to pick her up. He and the Salamander had both stood up at the same time from opposite ends of the room, sending him death glares that would have made any sane person run for the hills. But she had stood up as well, turning her head and giving them a slightly irritated look that practically begged them not to ruin this for her. So they had settled for growling at him and baring their Dragon Slayer fangs instead of punting him through a wall like Gajeel knew was going through Natsu's mind too.

After she left, Mirajane had teased them about having big brother complexes. Gajeel had told her, with all the subtlety of a brick, to shove it.

That was four months ago. But today, when she had turned up at the guild hall with tears streaming down her cheeks because she had caught him cheating on her, he and Natsu had almost destroyed the guild hall then and there, and screw whatever Mirajane had to say about it.

When she broke down though, they stopped. And when the both of them sensed the sudden wave of interest in the guild and started noticing the people nearest her start to run up to her and comfort her, they stood up, picked her up, and left, growling at the people to leave her alone.

The guild meant well, but the kid didn't need to be crowded.

And now here he was, walking down the streets looking for blood while the Salamander stood in _his_ house watching over the kid in _his_ bed. If someone had told him while he was in Phantom that he would one day be walking around town sniffing out some punk so he could teach him not to mess with a sixteen-year-old girl, he would have thrown them through a wall.

A stone wall.

That overlooked a cliff.

But that was then. They were rubbing off on him, he realized. Fairy Tail, with all their _nakama_ nonsense. The kid, with all her talk about family. Natsu, with all of his talk about finding the dragons. They were changing him slowly.

It was only when he finally found the punk, sulking against the wall of some stupid shop downtown, only when he saw the blood on the kid's shirt, and the three identical gashes down his cheek that looked like claw marks, as if he had been slapped by a tiger, that Gajeel realized something else.

The rubbing off went in both directions.

And the kid—no, _Wendy_—had taught him a valuable life lesson, that he should have been happy he had survived to learn.

You don't fuck with a Dragon Slayer.

He decided that the punk had been punished enough, and didn't need Gajeel's vengeance on top of that.

But, unfortunately for the little piece of crap, he _had _promised Natsu…

And what kind of big brothers would they be if they just walked away?


	2. Playdate

**Playdate**

**By: **

**Mystwalker**

**NOTE: **Since I can't post up new stories due to that part of the site being down, I'm posting this up here. I'll edit the properties of this fic later on to make it clear that this is apparently now a collection of one-shots.

**THIS STORY IS UNRELATED TO THREE OF A KIND! **

**A/N: **I seem to be on a Gajeel/Levy streak this weekend. And also, I was wondering what the children of the Fairy Tail members would look and act like, so enjoy this short piece. As for **Unconditional**, the next chapter should be up tomorrow or Tuesday!

Also, it should be pretty obvious where both of these children's names come from, lol.

Let me know if you want me to write more, and I could expand this into a series of one-shots and include the other pairings as well. (Or maybe something when they're all teens).

**Pairings: **Natsu/Lucy, Gajeel/Levy

**Disclaimer: **I do not and will never own Fairy Tail.

XxXxX

Levy walked a few feet ahead of them, smiling happily to herself and clasping her hands behind her back as if they didn't have anything better to do on a Saturday afternoon when neither of them were out on missions and they weren't needed at the guild for once. Gajeel grumbled something under his breath, his arms folded as he watched her, glaring once at a passer-by whose eyes had lingered on her a little longer than he liked. Even after about eight years, he still had moments where he acted like this.

He scowled. He didn't know what Levy thought about it, but going off to see the Salamander, the bunny girl and their brat was _not _how he wanted to spend his day off.

And from the looks of the sullen kid next to him, his face stuck in the exact same scowl as Gajeel's and his arms folded, it wasn't Gale's idea of a good Saturday afternoon either. He glanced down at the seven-year-old, frowning. The kid had his dark hair and red eyes, but beyond that, his features were pretty much Levy's—soft and at this point, almost girly, although all brats looked the same at this point, and Gajeel stood by the idea that Gale would grow out of it and not turn into Freed or one of those freaky Blue Pegasus stalkers. The expression on his face though, like he was being forced to chew slowly on rusted iron, was all Gajeel. His hair was cut short, falling just past his ears, and on his left ear Gajeel could see the little metal stud that had freaked Levy out so much when he brought him home a few days ago.

He knew it. This was punishment. Although he still didn't see what the problem was. He had a whole lot more piercings than just one ear, so when his kid had asked him if he could have one too, he didn't really see a problem with it.

Till he came home and Levy flipped out.

He glanced back at Levy and considered grabbing the kid and slipping off into the crowd before she noticed they were gone, but just as he was about to tell Gale his idea, Levy turned her head and gave him a look.

He wondered, not for the first time, if Levy could read his mind.

"I didn't even say anything!" he protested.

"Don't even think about it, Gajeel," said Levy. "I promised Lu-chan, and we've been planning this for months. Besides, you want to see Layla-chan too, don't you, Gale?"

"No, I don't!" said Gale. "She's annoying! Can we just go home?"

"You heard the kid," said Gajeel. "He doesn't wanna go. Let's go home."

Levy looked between the two of them and sighed. She walked up to Gale, kneeling down so that she was at eye level with him. "I heard Layla-chan was really excited to see you. Are you just going to let her down?"

"Hell yes!"

Gajeel snorted at the kid's enthusiastic answer, turning his head away to hide his amusement. That was _definitely _his kid.

"_Gajeel!" _scolded Levy.

"What are you looking at me for?" he asked, scowling at her. "_He's _the one that said it!"

"Where do you think he learned to use bad words like that?" asked Levy, folding her arms.

" 'Hell' ain't a bad word. I'll show you a bad word!"

"Don't!" said Levy. She pressed her hand to her forehead, then sighed and turned back towards Gale. "That's not a nice thing to say," she said. "What do you say?"

Gale sighed. "Sorry…" he said.

"And?" prompted Levy.

"And I won't do it again."

"Bull crap."

"GAJEEL!"

"What?" asked the Dragon Slayer, folding his arms. "I said 'crap' this time, not the other thing."

Levy sighed again, grabbing onto Gale's hand. "Let's just go," she said, leading them down the street. "And _not _embarrass ourselves in front of everyone."

"It's just the flame-brain and the bunny-chick," muttered Gajeel, following after them. "Who the hell—_heck_—," He corrected himself as Levy shot him a sharp look. "—is _everyone_?"

"Stupid firefly…" he heard Gale mutter to himself as he was practically dragged down the street towards the Dragneel Residence.

XxXxX

Gale really hated playdates.

Well, okay, maybe not really. He liked Alex just fine, and didn't really mind Miss Mirajane's son either. Uncle Jet and Uncle Droy were always happy to babysit, and it was a whole lot of fun when Auntie Wendy or Romeo-nii took all the Fairy Tail kids out for the day. In fact, he actually kind of liked all the other kids that hung around the Fairy Tail guildhall.

It was playdates with Layla Dragneel that he hated.

Probably because every single time he saw her, without fail, she would be—.

"Hey, Gale, wanna see me eat fire?" asked the pink-haired girl, holding up a lit match.

"No!" he said, glaring at her from over the top of the book he was reading.

The two of them were sitting in the living room, Gale leaning against the wall with a book in his lap and Layla playing with matches and ruining the pretty dress that she was wearing while her mother looked on and despaired.

"You're no fun," she said, pouting. The little girl sat down on the floor next to him, looking over at his book. He twitched as her shadow blocked his light, covering almost the entire page. Gale held the edges of the book more tightly as he thought about what his mother had whispered to him before they entered the house.

"_If you behave and don't get into a fight with Layla, I'll take you out for ice cream on the way home." _

"What are you reading?" she asked.

"A book," he said, quickly scooting away from her and bringing his knees up to his chest so that he was curled up in a small ball as he watched her warily from the top of his book. She didn't seem to take the hint and started crawling towards him. "A book about what?" she asked.

"Fairytales," he said.

"Fairy Tails like the guild?" she asked.

"No!" he said. "Not that kind of fairytale!"

She frowned at him in confusion. "There are other Fairy Tails?" she asked, tilting her head. "Cool! Do they have other Mirajanes and Erzas and Papas too?"

Gale gave her a flat look, a perfect imitation of Gajeel's "Are you some sort of idiot?" glare. Layla didn't seem unaffected, since her eyes moved to Gale's right ear.

"Hey, what's that?" she asked, "Is that an earring?"

Gale immediately froze up as her fingers landed on it, a stab of pain running through his body.

Screw ice cream.

"Ow, get off!" he yelled, pushing her off him roughly. "It still hurts, you stupid fire bug!"

Her brown eyes narrowed as she rolled over and pushed herself to her feet, flames beginning to curl around her fingers. "I am NOT a fire bug!"

"Firefly, fire lizard, fire worm," he countered, putting the book down and getting up as well.

"You're just jealous because I can use magic and you can't!" taunted Layla.

"_What?" _asked Gale. "I am NOT!"

"Jealous, jealous~" chanted Layla in a singsong voice, sticking her tongue out at him. "I'm a Dragon Slayer and Gale can't do anything~"

"Why, you—!" he shouted, jumping forward and tackling her to the ground. He grabbed her wrists, knowing that at this point, Layla could only manifest fire around her hands. The two of them fell onto the ground and began to roll around, clawing at faces, hair, and clothes and knocking into the furniture. Layla rolled over and kneed him in the chest, pushing him off her. He grabbed at her hair in response, causing her to shriek as she fell back on top of him. They bumped into one of the legs of the coffee table, knocking over a vase.

Several hurried footsteps sounded through the wooden floor as their parents rushed in. Gale heard his mother call his name, but unfortunately, he couldn't see her with Layla pressing his face into the hardwood floor. He spun around and lashed out, pushing her off him. She shrieked and pushed back, sending him slamming into the wall. The shock of the impact rippled up the wall and towards the shelf above him. He looked up, his eyes widening as a single metal bookend spun around on an edge lazily, before tipping over the side of the shelf entirely and heading straight for his head.

He screamed and closed his eyes, bringing his arm in front of his face to shield himself. His heart pounded quickly in his chest, and he suddenly felt it rushing through him, a sudden power that had come out of nowhere. He squeezed his eyes shut and realized he could _feel _the metal as it rushed towards him, expelling the power in one blast, the only way he knew how…

XxXxX

Levy thought she was going to have a heart attack.

Layla picked herself up off the floor and onto her knees, her eyes wide.

"_GALE!" _she screamed, extending a hand out towards her playmate-slash-opponent.

The bookend, heavy enough to break his head if it landed straight on top of him, flew towards him. Levy saw it happening in slow motion as her son stared up at it wide-eyed, raising his arm to shield his face and turning his head away. Gale screamed.

And a gray magic circle formed just above his arm.

The bookend turned at a sharp 90-degree angle, shooting out straight across the room and hitting the wall. Plaster cracked and dust went flying as it slammed into it, before landing on the ground harmlessly. Her eyes widened, and she turned to look at Gale as the magic circle dispersed and he opened his eyes, staring at the mark on the wall and the bookend. She had been intending to teach Gale Solid Script when he was older, since he hadn't been born with the same aptitude to become a Dragon Slayer as Layla had been, but she hadn't expected him to develop magic on his own, the same way Erza had.

Should she really have been surprised though, considering who his parents were?

"What kind of magic was that?" asked Gajeel from beside her. It took her a while to realize he was speaking to her. She blinked, then looked at him. The image of the magic circle was still fresh in her mind.

"It was…" she began, comparing the magic circle to the ones she already knew about. "It was manipulation," she said. She looked up at Gajeel. "Metal manipulation."

Levy turned towards Gale, who was staring at his hands with a bewildered expression on his face. Layla frowned and sat back on her heels, blinking up at them.

"Are we…in trouble?" she asked, tilting her head.

XxXxX

She really shouldn't have asked.

Gale sighed as he sat in his corner and wrapped his arms around his knees, lowering his head and resting his forehead on his arms. A dark cloud seemed to hover around him, dark lines falling from the air around him. Across the room from him, Layla sat in another corner, in mostly the same position while their parents—or at least their mothers, since their fathers were too busy arguing—cleaned up the living room.

"This is all your fault, hothead…" he muttered under his breath when the adults weren't looking.

"No, it's all _your _fault, stupid," said Layla.

He snorted. "As if, firefly."

"Stupid head."

"Loser dragon."

"Freak."

"Charcoal brain."

XxXxX

"My kid would've kicked your brat's butt," said Gajeel as he brushed the remains of a broken vase casually into his other hand, which was shaped like a dustpan.

"No way!" said Natsu, picking up a half-broken glass figurine. "Layla can take Gale on any day!"

"Pfft, in your dreams, maybe," said Gajeel.

"What's that?" asked Natsu, dropping the figurine. It shattered into a million pieces, becoming worse than it was earlier.

"You wanna go at it flame-brain?" asked Gajeel, dropping the shards of ceramic and reforming his arms into blades.

Lucy sighed, watching as Virgo began to clean up the mess, sweeping around the two Dragon Slayers. "Who do you think _they _take after?" she asked, glancing back at the two arguing kids.

Levy sighed as well, putting down her broom. "It's pretty obvious," she said.

"Sometimes…" said Lucy, watching Gajeel and Natsu, "I wonder which ones are the parents and which ones are the kids."

"Still," said Levy, sitting back and smiling slightly. "It _is _a little cute."

"Which ones?" asked Lucy, frowning. "Those two, or Gale and Layla?"

"Both," said Levy with a grin.

Lucy laughed slightly, watching the two children. "Those two _are _kinda cute together. It almost makes you wonder if…"

Levy nodded, smiling slightly. "Later in life…" she continued.

"NO WAY IN HELL!" roared both Natsu and Gajeel, breaking up their argument and turning towards them rapidly as both Gale and Layla looked up and made disgusted faces.


	3. The Problems of an Ice Mage

**The Problems of Ice Magic**

**By: **

**Mystwalker**

**A/N: **This one's just a short little ficlet about Gray. It's set around the same time as **Playdate**, and in the same universe, so although this is primarily Gray/Juvia, Gale (Gajeel/Levy) and Layla (Natsu/Lucy) from the last fic exist. Also, for those who asked, Alex (Alexander) is Erza's son, this fic is set after **Unconditional, **and the pairing is Erza/Jellal. I won't say much about him since I don't want to spoil the ending of **Unconditional **(which I haven't written yet.)

Regarding Aqua's name, I chose it both because of her hair and because Gray's name is also a color, and I thought it matched.

**Pairings: **Gray/Juvia

**Disclaimer: **I do not and will never own Fairy Tail.

XxXxX

It was one of those rare days at Fairy Tail where Gray and Natsu could sit at the same table and eat breakfast without attempting to tear the other person's throat out, mostly because neither of them was paying much attention to the other. Natsu was watching Lucy fuss with Layla's hair, as if the pink-haired girl's pigtails would stay that neat for more than half an hour. The young girl was standing next to another girl about her age, with long blue hair and wearing a white one-piece dress. He was in charge of watching her today, since Juvia was helping Cana move into her new apartment. Both girls were watching Gale Redfox push small coins across the bartop with his newly acquired magic.

Aqua laughed in delight as a coin flew off the counter top and made a full circle around her head, landing smoothly on the bar and forming a line with the others.

"That's really cool, Gale!" she said.

"Big deal," said Layla, squirming out of her mother's grasp and placing her hands on her waist. "He can move coins around. So?"

Gale's eyes narrowed at her and he flicked his wrist, one of the coins flying off the bar top and hitting Layla straight in the forehead. She yelped and stumbled back, then stepped forward, fire curling up her hands. "Gale!" she yelled. "You'll pay for that!"

"Bring it," said Gale, jumping off the stool he was sitting on. Lucy sighed, pressing her face into her hand as a cloud of dust sprung up around the two grappling kids. The blue-haired girl remained where she stood, her hands clasped together. From across the room, a red-haired boy sighed, leaning against the wall and holding his wooden practice sword loosely in one hand. He closed his eyes.

"Going to stop them, Alex?" asked the white-haired boy next to him.

"Too much trouble…" replied the redhead.

Natsu had already jumped up from the table to run to the fight, not to break it up like any sane parent would have, but to cheer Layla on. Loudly. This was countered by Gajeel, who started cheering Gale on, and telling him to not be afraid to take Layla down because she was a girl.

He took a sip of his drink. Just another typical day at Fairy Tail.

A tug at his coat, which, at the moment, was still on, made him look down. Aqua looked up at him and he reached down, picking her up under the arms and letting her sit on his lap.

"Um…" she began.

"What's up?" he asked, keeping an eye out on the fight. Natsu and Gajeel were going at it now, and he had to watch out to make sure he and his daughter weren't suddenly thrown across the room by a flying table.

"I think I want to learn magic now," she said. "Since Gale has his magic already…"

He had been expecting this. Now that Gale had magic, Aqua was the only one of her batch of kids that didn't, and he knew she wanted to join the guild. "Oh?" he asked. "What kind of magic were you thinking of?" He felt a little bubble of pride start to form inside him when she kicked her legs back and forth, turned her head, and grinned at him.

"I wanna learn Ice Maker Magic," she said.

The bubble of pride swelled…

"You're sure?" he asked.

Aqua nodded. "Yep!" she said. "So I want you to teach me just like Ur taught you."

…and suddenly burst.

…_Just like Ur taught you…_

His eyes widened as he froze in place, his mind suddenly running through the memories of his days with Ur.

"_If you want to learn magic, the first thing you need to do is strip." _

"…_the first thing you need to do…" _

"…_the first thing…" _

His hands began to shake. Aqua looked up at him and frowned in concern.

"Dad?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"_It's because of you that I developed this stripping habit!" _

"…_developed this stripping habit!" _

"…_stripping habit!" _

He looked down at Aqua with horror, then immediately picked her up, pulling her close with both arms and running out of the guild so fast that he left two broken tables and a trail of dust in his wake.

_"**JUUUUVVVVVIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAA****!" **_

That was the day Aqua Fullbuster became a Water Mage.


	4. The Not Quite Strongest Team

**The Not-Quite Strongest Team**

**By: **

**Mystwalker**

**A/N: **Since you guys asked for it, there's more Gale in this chapter. Also, Alex, but I won't give him his own chapter until I explain his backstory, and since his backstory's a little more serious, I need to tone down the light-hearted mood before jumping straight into it.

Also, this chapter didn't turn out so well. I've been really busy thanks to school, so my sense of humor seems to have failed a little. . I was also going to explain what Gale was making, but the chapter seemed to lead away from it, so in order to avoid making it seem forced, I'll explain it in another little update.

**Disclaimer: **I do not and will never own Fairy Tail.

XxXxX

Gale stared down at the chunk of metal on the tabletop in front of him, tapping it with his finger as if that would suddenly get it to behave. It just wasn't shaping the way he wanted it to shape, and it was driving him up the wall. He concentrated, his finger slipping straight through the metal as if it were made of nothing more than water. Gale drew his finger out of the metal piece, a string of metal following. He looped it around, pushing it into place.

Someone crashed down onto the bar next to him, causing the entire set up to wobble. Gale cursed as his control was broken and the metal hardened again. He looked up, his eyes narrowing at the redhead that was lying on his arms on the bar.

"Alex!" he yelled. "Can't you sleep somewhere _else_?"

Alex's only response was to groan and bury his head further into his arms. "Too loud…" he muttered.

"Sheesh, stay home if you're going to sleep all day," muttered Gale, running a hand through his dark hair. It had gotten longer now, falling down to his shoulders. The thirteen-year-old looked back down at his project, but it was ruined beyond repair at this point. He sighed and waved his hand, the half-finished patterns sinking back into the metal as it became a blank square again. Beside him, Alex mumbled something that sounded like "No food."

"Let Alex rest," said Aqua suddenly, rising up from behind the bar and causing Gale to fall out of his seat in surprise. "He worked hard yesterday."

"Where the hell did you _come _from?" asked Gale.

Aqua shrugged. "I dripped down from the ceiling," she said.

"Can't you use a DOOR like normal people?" asked Gale, pointing at the guild's front doors. "There was a door, you know!"

Aqua glanced at the door with apparent disinterest, then shrugged. Gale sighed. Convincing Aqua to enter and exit a room like a normal person was like trying to convince her father to keep his clothes on, or to convince her mother not to refer to herself in the third person. There was probably something in the water at the Fullbuster household.

"At any rate, let Alex rest," she said. "You know he needs it."

"If he would just let me tear up that chunk of useless metal that's giving him grief, he wouldn't need it," muttered Gale, getting back onto his seat.

Alex muttered something that sounded like "I can control it." That, or "I have a dried fish." Gale's eyes flicked over to him, taking into account his disheveled appearance. "Yeah," he said. "Sure."

Alex ignored him. "Aqua," he said. "…Food?"

"Breakfast ended about two hours ago, slacker," said Gale, tracing a circle with his finger on the metal. A groove followed his finger, going all the way around.

"I'll find something," promised Aqua, seeming to slide back under the bar. Gale decided against commenting that the door was right behind her. He adjusted one of the plain metal bracers that he wore on his arms, loosening the fit slightly.

"Aqua-chan, me too please!" said Layla suddenly, sitting down on the other side of him.

"And here comes Slacker # 2," said Gale dryly, prodding at the metal block again.

"Oh, shut up, metal head," said Layla.

"Lead by example, firefly," muttered Gale, pinching off a part of the metal and drawing it into a coil. He concentrated for a moment, before turning towards Alex.

"So…" he said. "What _were _you up to yesterday."

"Job," replied Alex.

"Alone?" asked Gale. "You're gonna kill yourself someday."

Alex shrugged in reply.

Layla frowned at him. "You need a—duck—." The three of them lowered their heads to the bartop in unison as Natsu flew overhead, crashing into the wall behind them. As soon as he passed, Gale and Layla straightened back up. "You need a team," finished Layla, as if she had never been interrupted. "Hey, Dad."

Natsu raised an arm in acknowledgment, then sprang back up.

"GRAY, YOU BASTARD!" he shouted, jumping back over the bar.

"Like who?" asked Alex, stretching out on his arm and turning his head to face her.

"Like us," said Layla with a grin. "Me and Aqua. Since our parents are all part of a team."

"You?" asked Alex, giving her a flat look.

"Why not?" asked Layla.

"How many attacks do you know?" said Alex.

Layla frowned, counting on her fingers. "Um…three…and a half?" she asked.

"And how many don't cause massive property damage?"

Layla blinked at him for a moment, before lowering her hand. Alex sighed. "I thought so," he said.

"If you're going to pick a team, I should be on it," said Gale. "I'm older than Layla and Aqua, and besides, I can stop you if you go completely psycho one day."

"That's encouraging…" muttered Alex sarcastically.

Gale shrugged. "I'm not the one lugging around a possessed chunk of metal."

"His name is Muramasa," said Alex, "And he doesn't like to be called names. You need to learn that if you're going to be on a team with me."

"Don't forget about me," said Aqua, appearing out of nowhere again with two plates in her hands. Gale jumped, but managed to stay in his seat this time. She set one plate down in front of Alex, and another in front of Layla. Aqua picked up a match and set Layla's plate on fire, then snuffed out the match with a wave of her hand and sat down as Alex and Layla both perked up and began to eat. "I should be on this team too."

"The four of us on a team?" asked Alex, swallowing down a mouthful of food.

"Let's call it Team Layla!" said Layla, looking up from her meal.

"Don't go naming things after yourself, idiot!" said Gale, placing his hand under the metal coil he was forming and smoothing it out.

"It was _my _idea!" said Layla.

"Oh? You guys are forming a team?" asked Natsu, breaking away from his fight with Gray and leaning over the table at them.

"We're thinking about it," said Aqua, propping her chin up on her hand and smiling.

"That's great!" said Lucy, joining the conversation as well. "It'll be just like when _we _were younger!"

"Oh, you four will make such a cute team!" exclaimed Mirajane, joining the conversation.

"Wait, don't I get a say in this?" asked Alex.

"We are _not _calling it Team Layla, firebreath," said Gale, completely ignoring him.

"Then how about Team Dragneel?" asked Layla, completely serious.

"Absolutely _not_!" said Gale.

"Well then, what do _you _want to call it?" asked Layla, folding her arms and frowning at him.

Gale paused, blinking at her. "…I…don't know," he admitted.

"Team Dragneel it is!" said Layla.

"Anything but that!"

"I think the team name should have something to do with all of us," said Aqua.

"We're a Dragon Slayer, a Metal Mage, a Water Mage, and a guy with a cursed sword," said Gale. "How the heck are we going to find a name that relates to _everyone_?"

"…Team Asylum?" asked Aqua, raising one finger.

Gale and Layla turned at the same time and gave her a flat look, falling silent for a moment.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" they both roared.

"Team Property Damage is what they're going to end up being," whispered Lucy to Mirajane as the three began to argue.

"Unfortunately, yes," said Mirajane with a nod. "But who do you think they take after?"

Alex sighed in defeat, slumping forward and lowering his head to the tabletop as everyone began to argue over his head about the team name. He looked up suddenly, as if realizing something.

"Aqua?" he said, interrupting their argument.

Aqua blinked and looked up, releasing the globes of water from around Gale and Layla's heads. "Yes, Alex?" she asked.

"…How did you know I was out on a job?" he asked. "I didn't tell anyone I was leaving."

Aqua blinked and stared at Alex for a moment. Then, her face reddened, although her expression didn't change. She suddenly turned around. "Uh…I have to go home and…uh…water my cat!" she said hurriedly.

"Wait, Aqua!" said Alex, reaching out a hand over the counter to catch her.

She walked briskly, moving out of his reach and heading towards the supply closet. Aqua threw open the door with one hand, stepped inside, and closed it behind her. Everyone froze for a moment.

"…Closet?" asked Gale, exchanging a glance with Layla.

The both of them got out of their seats and crept over to it, standing on either side.

"Count of three," said Layla. "One…two…"

"Three," finished Gale, throwing the doors open.

The closet was empty.

"She's gone!" said Layla, wide-eyed.

"Where'd she go?" asked Gale, staring at the inside of the closet. At the same time, the both of them jumped inside, overturning buckets and looking in several of the supply crates.

"Aqua-chan!" called Layla.

"Aqua?" asked Gale, checking behind the mop.

Alex stared at them with a puzzled look, scratching his head. Meanwhile, at another table, Gray looked up from over his drink and sighed.

"…At least she's more subtle than Juvia," he muttered to himself.


End file.
